Prison Break
by Hodgepig
Summary: An unlikely assortment of prisoners band together and pool their skills in order to manufacture an escape from an Imperial Prison Barge, the 'Dirge'.


Prison Break

A Star Wars Adventure

By

Alexander Mark McCaffrey

2016

* * *

 **Drip, drip, drip.** It was all he could hear. To be honest, Kell was glad he could hear his own blood dripping down onto the cold floor…it reassured him he was alive.

Kell picked himself up and sat on his bunk. He wiped away the blood from his lips and nose and stared into the darkness that was his cell. He sighed. _Is this my life for the next two weeks? Wake up, exercise, go to the mess, get beaten to a pulp by the guard and get thrown back into my cell?_ Kell buried his face into his hands and rubbed his eyes. _No,_ he thought _, I need to get out. If I think this is bad, what's it gonna be like on 'Kessel'?_

He paced up and down his cell, thinking. Suddenly the ship shook catching Kell of guard sending him down to the floor. 'Agh!' he exclaimed, 'Great, more prisoners.' Kell had become used to the floor shaking clash of the prison barge docking with other ships, or space stations to acquire new prisoners but this time, just like it did the very first time, it caught him off guard.

Some time and some more pacing passed. Then a low pitched whine could be heard at the end of the corridor in Kell's cell-block which began to increase in volume. Kell sat on his bunk. He knew what was happening. The new prisoners where on the way down from the docking bay. Down at the end of the corridor the elevator doors parted. Two new prisoners were escorted down to their cells by three Stormtroopers. Kell watched as they walked by. He noticed that one of the new prisoners had a tattoo on his left shoulder. It was a tattoo of the Stormtrooper Core. This prisoner was obviously a former Stormtrooper and the other appeared to be a female Twi'lek, he couldn't exactly tell as his view was partially obscured by the Stormtrooper guards.

The Stormtroopers locked the prisoners into their cells on the opposite side of the corridor from his and left for the elevator. But as the guards were leaving one of them stopped; stopped right outside Kell's cell and looked at him. The Stormtrooper appeared to have dry blood on his hands and on his wrist armour. This was the trooper that beat Kell every time he escorted him back to his cell. With the way he was looking at him with his head slightly tilted, even though he was wearing a helmet, Kell knew he was smiling. The trooper let out a quiet laugh and then left.

Kell stood back up and looked into the corridor. He looked across at each of the newly occupied cells. _Right,_ he thought, _we have a Twi'lek, an ex-Stormtrooper, the Wookiee in the cell next door, me and…?_ Kell looked into the cell directly across from him. He had never seen the prisoner in there. He had no idea what species he, she or it was… _and well, we've got whatever's in that cell too. Okay. So, we have five people, including me, against an entire Prison Barge's worth of Stormtrooper and angry prisoners. Yep that should do._

Kell approached the bars of his cell. He looked across into the cells of the two new prisoners. It was too dark. He couldn't really see anything, 'Hey! You two. Newbies. The Twi'lek and Stormtrooper?' Kell called over to them with no response.

After a few minutes the ex-Stormtrooper appeared at the bars of his cell. Kell could get a good look at him now that the hall light was on him. He was young. Well, younger than himself anyway. He had a typical shaven head of a Stormtrooper. He looked quite the worse for wear with some livid bruises around the eyes and a puffy look as if he had recently received quite a savage beating. Some old scars, white with age, marked his face, evidence that he had seen previous action somewhere.

'How do you know I'm a…. I was a Stormtrooper?' the ex-trooper asked.

'I saw the tattoo on your shoulder. What happened? Why are you here?'

'Why should I tell you? Why does it matter?'

'Because if we're gonna be here a while I'd like to know who my cell mates are? And it would be polite to answer my question?'

The ex-trooper rubbed his head and sighed. 'Well, right…okay. I uh…enlisted in the Stormtrooper Core to protect my people, my family, my friends… but it wasn't what I thought. I'd been with the core for five years; with new friends for five years. Then we got a mission to kill civilians just because the Empire wanted their land.'

The trooper paused. He looked like he wanted to hit something.

'What happened?'

'My squad mates started laughing, joking about what they were going to do. I couldn't believe it! In my service I've seen some awful things, some awful people but this. I… I just lost it. So, I killed my squad. I couldn't let them do it. There was no way to reason with them, believe me I tried. They wouldn't listen to me, they called me gutless and a rebel sympathiser. So, I did what I had to. I opened fire but one of them must have managed to get off a distress call and the next thing I knew all the nearby squads converged on our position and I was stunned. The next thing I remember was waking up, stripped of my armour, wearing binders and on my way here. There you go. That's why I'm here. 'Cause I didn't want something evil to happen.'

Kell let the conversation lapse for a minute as he absorbed the Stormtrooper's story.

'I'm sorry. What's your name?' he asked quietly. 'Mine's Kell.'

'JT-339.'

'Your real name.'

'Just… just call me 'Trooper'.'

'Okay.'

Some time passed and Kell thought about what Trooper had said. There had been no reply from the Twi'lek girl so he decided to try and talk to her. But as he was about to say something she spoke, 'Hey. Did you say your name was Kell a while ago?' she asked.

 _Finally she speaks,_ Kell thought, 'Yeah I did. My name's Kell Durran. What's yours?'

'Kell Durran. Durran. Oh my, Kell, it's me, Naya!'

'Naya? Naya!' Kell hadn't seen her in years. He had saved her and a lot of her people when she was a kid, back on her home world 'Ryloth'. After that she followed him around for a while before he left. He quickly went to the bars of his cell to see her and there she was at the bars of her cell, all grown up. The last he had heard of her was that she had become quite the pilot in the Alliance.

When he rescued Naya and her people she was injured. That's how she got the scar on her cheek. It was still noticeable. She appeared to have gained a new scar on her left eyebrow. The most significant injury she had sustained was the loss of her left hand. She had been fitted with a Mechno replacement but now, Kell noticed, all she was showing was the metal attachment collar attached to her wrist, 'Naya! It is so good to see you. Are you okay?' Kell asked.

'Yeah I'm okay. I just wish it wasn't here where we got to see each other again. The lighting is awful and don't get me started on the decor.'

Well her sense of humour was intact. She was definitely okay, 'What happened? How did you end up here? And uh, your Mechno hand is missing?'

'I was deployed on Felucia. My 'X-wing' got busted by a 'TIE' when my squad were finishing our routine recon'. It was an ambush and I got hit. I bailed out. I was lucky we were in the lower atmosphere. I made it to the ground but an 'Imp' patrol picked me up and now I'm here. My hand? The blasted 'Imps' disconnected it from my arm when I arrived here, they thought I could use it as a weapon.'

'A weapon?'

'Well it is made of metal.'

'Oh, well yeah I guess it could be used as one then.'

* * *

 **Alisa Renn sat in her chair and stared out into the darkness of space.** She watched as the 'Sentinel-class' Imperial Shuttle prepared to dock with the 'Dirge'. Renn's com-unit bleeped so she swivelled her chair around to her desk. She pushed the now flashing button on her desk and waited for a response.

'This is Sentinel 'Alpha 48'. Do we have permission to dock?' said the voice over the com.

'You have permission Alpha 48. Guards will be waiting to take your cargo.' Renn replied.

'Understood ma'am.'

'You may replenish any fuel you may have lost from our stock.'

'We're good here ma'am but thank you. Your cargo is on-board. Permission to detach.'

'Permission granted Alpha 48.'

'Thank you ma'am. Have a nice day.'

Renn switched off the com-channel between the shuttle and her own. She was amused. That was the first genuinely pleasant person she'd heard from in weeks. Weeks? - make that months! Renn switched on her computer. She had new data. It was about the new cargo…the new prisoners. The Twi'lek and… the 'Stormtrooper'.

She read the data: Twi'lek. Female. 20 years of age. A pilot in the Felucia Rebel Cell. Hmm, she mused, she could be of some use to the Empire. Well, if we can get her to talk that is. Now…the Stormtrooper: Male. 31 years old. Reading the report about what he had done, she was appalled. _Kid, what have you done? Murdering his own squad? What could have made him do it?_ Renn sighed and logged the new information into her computer and switched it off.

Renn stood up and went over to her window. She watched as the shuttle returned to Felucia, seeing it get smaller and smaller as they sped out into empty space, preparing to jump to Hyperspace. She then remembered something. Striding quickly over to her com-unit she typed in a frequency code. She spoke into the com, 'TK-5773 are you and your troopers still transporting the prisoners?'

'Yes ma'am. We have nearly reached their Detention Block.' a female voice replied.

'I want you to postpone that and remove the Twi'lek's Mechno hand. It could be used as a weapon.'

'Understood ma'am. I'll see to it immediately.'

* * *

 **Kell picked up his tray covered in the many substances that the Empire called food.**

He walked over to the bench where Gaaraddik, the Wookiee who occupied the cell next to his, was sitting. He looked over at Naya who was in line waiting to get her own tray of unspeakably horrible food. He felt for her, _She is never gonna forget this stuff. Eugh._ He sat down next to Gaaraddik and waited for Naya. Naya sat opposite Kell and she tried the food. She was not pleased.

'Good isn't it,' Kell joked as Naya muttered various curses. Gaaraddik was very amused by the whole situation, 'Right,' Kell whispered conspiratorially, 'I have an idea of how to get out of here.'

'Really? What?' Naya asked.

'Well first things first…keep your voice down!' Kell hissed, 'The best place for us to start our escape without too much bother would be from our cells. Now I know what you're thinking. How do we get out of our cells, they're locked? Well this is the first of probably many risky parts. We wait till we're released for the mess hall and attack the guards.'

'That's insane. That's three armed Stormtroopers against us.'

'We have Gaaraddik,' Kell pointed to Gaaraddik who responded by ruffling Kell's hair -much to Kell's displeasure, 'and maybe we can enlist Trooper too.'

'The Stormtrooper. I mean did you really believe his story?'

'Yeah. I've seen a lot of Stormtroopers but him…he is something different. C'mon you know he is?'

'Kell, I don't know. Yeah, okay, he's different, but I don't trust him.'

'Okay. You're right. I know you're right. After we take out the guards we'll need a pilot.' Kell looked at Naya.

'You won't have one without my hand.'

'Okay we've got a pilot,' he said ruefully, looking meaningfully at her Mechno' stump, 'but we'll need to retrieve your hand. Right so we need to find where they would've put your hand. That is if they didn't destroy it.'

'They won't have,' said a voice behind them. Kell turned to see who it was. It was Trooper, 'They won't have destroyed it. They'll keep it 'till they make port and then the Empire'll recycle it or maybe they'll give it one of their own who needs it. Right now it'll be in storage, on…floor 5 probably.'

'How do you know that?' Naya asked.

'I was stationed on a Prison Barge for a couple of weeks a while ago. I asked questions, looked around. I know how this place works.'

'We could use you in our escape. You'd be a great help.'

'Oh c'mon.' Naya said with a frustrated look in her eyes.

'Naya we need him. He knows his way around this place. Okay.' Kell replied.

Naya sighed and nodded at Kell and he looked at Trooper.

'Okay I'll help. I am all for getting out of here. There is no way in Hell I am going back to the Academy.' Said Trooper.

Gaaraddik stood up, towering over Trooper. He did not look happy and was growling menacingly, 'Uh, what…what is he doing?' Trooper asked Kell.

'Um, this is Gaaraddik's way of saying to you, uh, if you betray us he'll…he'll uh-'

'You know what Kell. I think I got it.'

The next day had arrived. Time for Kell's plan to come into play. He sat in his cell, waiting. It was almost time. He heard the elevator doors open and he readied himself. Three Stormtroopers walked down the cell block corridor. One of them stopped at Kell's cell, the second at Troopers and the last at Naya's.

'Ready? I'm opening the cells.' The Stormtrooper outside Kell's cell said.

He pulled a control pad out of one of his belt pouches and tapped in a code and Kell, Trooper and Naya's cell doors opened. The Stormtrooper then pulled out a stun baton and gestured for Kell to come out. Kell then stood up and exited his cell to see Trooper and Naya exiting theirs too.

'Hey 'Rookie?' Kell's Stormtrooper gestured to the other outside Naya's cell, 'Catch!' He then tossed his control pad to the one he called Rookie. The Rookie barely caught it and looked puzzled, 'Let the Wookiee out.'

The Rookie looked into Gaaraddik's cell and saw the towering ferocious beast inside, 'Oh no. No, no, no! Let's just go. Please.'

'Fine. We'll come back for him later you pathetic excuse of a soldier.' Said Kell's Stormtrooper.

The Stormtroopers then began marching the prisoners to the elevator. This was not going as planned. They hadn't let Gaaraddik out. So Kell thought, _screw it_!

'Now!' Kell shouted. The Stormtrooper in front of him turned to see what the hell was going on but was suddenly slammed down to the ground.

Naya grabbed her Stormtroopers' stun baton and hit him in the head, dazing him, before jabbing him in the neck with it sending an electric pulse through him. He fell down, unconscious.

Kell's guard scrambled to his feet and launched himself at Kell. Kell leaned in and employed a neat hip throw, pitching him into the wall. The Stormtrooper hit the wall with a satisfying smack which effectively knocked him out. Both Naya and Kell sighed, glad it was over. They then turned to Trooper who was standing over the body of the Rookie. Kell walked over to Trooper and looked down at the Rookie. He was dead. Kell put his hand on Troopers' shoulder and looked at him. Kell sighed and walked away.

'Oh, here, we'll need this.' Trooper said. His arm stretched out towards Kell, holding in his hand the control pad.

Naya came forward and took the control pad from him and stood in front of Gaaraddik's cell. She pushed in a few buttons and his cell doors opened, 'There we go.'

At the same time they heard a noise and turned to see another cell opening. They looked into the cell that had opened and heard a deep male voice coming from within,

'Well then. You're planning on escaping,' the voice said matter of factly, 'That's exactly what I want in on.'

Out stepped the prisoner that Kell had never actually seen but had known was in the cell adjacent to his. He was an older man. He was muscular, bald, had some scars and a thin white goatee. He looked at Kell as if he recognised him and said, 'I'm at your service Lieutenant Durran.'

'Do I know you?' Kell asked puzzledly.

The man looked at Kell for a moment as if he didn't understand, 'Of course sir. Although it has been some time. Allow me to reintroduce myself. I'm Sergeant O'Brion. ARC Trooper of the Grand Army of the Republic. At your service.'

* * *

Alisa Renn took a drink of water from her glass. She sat it down and looked at her computer. She looked away from it for a moment, thinking hard, then looked back. She knew it was nothing but she was convinced she may have missed something important in the prisoner files. Something nagged at her. She turned her computer back on and sifted through her files.

She reached the personnel files and selected the prisoners. Starting with Trooper and Naya's files, she skimmed through the information, but found nothing out of the ordinary. More prisoner files were selected but yielded nothing extraordinary. Reaching Gaaraddik, the Wookie's file she read: Male. 321 years of age. Part of the Wookiee resistance on Kashyyyk. Captured and imprisoned. Escaped shortly after but recaptured. Typical Wookiee profile.

She then moved onto Kell's file: Human. Male. 45 years old. A Officer captured on 'Selonia'. Nothing there either.

Finally she came to O'Brion's file: Human. Male. 60 years old. Captured on 'Sullust' aiding 'Sullustan' rebels. Also reported that the prisoner's twin brother escaped capture on Sullust.

She stared at O'Brion's image for a few minutes. Then it jumped out at her. She quickly opened up a second file - a file on Jango Fett. She transferred the images of Fett and O'Brion to her screen for comparison. Side by side their faces were almost identical. O'Brion was a 'Clone'!

Alisa lent back in her seat and smirked. She pressed the com' button on her console and spoke, 'TK-5773 are you reading me?'

'Yes Ma'am, I am.' The female Stormtrooper replied.

'Take your troopers down to Cell Block 11. Bring me prisoner '0154. I would like to speak with him.'

* * *

 **Trooper, Gaaraddik and Naya looked at O'Brion and then to Kell.** "You're an ARC Trooper! A Clone!" Kell yelled in surprise at O'Brion.

"Yes Lieutenant Durran I am. You still don't remember me?" O'Brion replied with a quiet sigh at the end.

"I'm not a lieutenant, at least not with the Republic anymore," Kell paused for a moment and looked O'Brion straight in the eyes, "No. I do remember you. 'The Battle of Coruscant.' The Jedi had been sent to rescue the Chancellor while the navy dealt with the 'CIS' ships. I sent you and the rest of your team to sabotage one of the 'CIS's' heavy carriers didn't I?"

"Yes you did sir. Yes you did."

"I remember your team. Commander 'Darthal', Captain 'Zak', Sergeant 'Vez' and you. What happened to them?"

"They're gone. It's just me now, sir."

"Oh, I'm sorry. They were good men. Wait? How did you end up here?"

"Me and my team didn't follow 'Order 66' so-

"What's Order 66?" Kell interrupted.

"Order 66 was a secret command in all of us. All my brothers. If issued we were to execute… we had no choice. We had to kill the 'Jedi'."

"That's what happened! How? Why would that be an order you had to follow!"

"It was the 'Sith'. They ordered our creation. A grand army for the Sith. Not the Republic. I found out the hard way. We didn't follow the order. We tried to stop it."

"What? I thought you had to follow it?"

"ARC Troopers were given more free will than any other Clones. Like the Commandos we could adapt to a situation better than the others. We didn't follow the order. We went to the 'Jedi Temple' and tried to save as many Jedi as we could. That's where my team died. That's where I killed my brothers. I couldn't let them kill them. We were too late. There was no stopping it. I barely survived."

"My god. I- I'm sorry. I don't know what to…I'm sorry."

"It happened. It's done. Right now we should be escaping not talking. I would like to accompany you sir. I have been waiting for some payback."

"Okay. It's good to have you with us O'Brion. Let's uh…go."

Kell turned to face the others. Gaaraddik, who Kell expected to be furious by the fact there was a Clone here seemed, sadly calm. Naya was both sad and happy. Sad for what had happened and happy that they had someone else who hated the Empire as much as them. Trooper was saluting Kell.

"Trooper? Why- What are you doing?" Kell asked.

"I'm saluting a commanding officer sir." He replied.

"I'm not your commanding officer."

"I no longer serve the Empire. You are a Lieutenant, so I salute."

"I- Never mind. C'mon lets go."

The group entered the elevator and made their way up to floor 5. The elevator reached its destination and the doors parted. Three Stormtroopers stood looking into the elevator, readying their blasters. Both Gaaraddik and O'Brion charged out of the elevator and made short work of them.

Before moving on they dumped the Stormtroopers on top of each other inside the elevator and sent it back down to their cell block. Inside the elevator one of the Stormtroopers awoke. She shifted herself off of the other two and slumped down on the ground. She turned on her Comlink and said, "Captain Renn, Ma'am," she paused a moment as she coughed and picked herself up, "This is TK-5773. The prisoner you wanted to see. He's escaped. He has friends."

* * *

 **Alisa Renn sat in her chair staring at the image of Jango Fett and the prisoner side by side.** She couldn't believe he was a clone. Not many Clones left now so this was a shock. Her com unit bleeped so she turned it on and a female voice spoke, "Captain Renn, Ma'am," there was a short pause, "This is TK-5773. The prisoner you wanted to see. He's escaped. He has friends."

Alisa's hand clenched into a fist and she slammed it down hard onto her table, "What! How? How did this happen? Who is helping him?" Renn replied furiously!

"I'm not sure ma'am. There was a Wookiee, a female Twi'lek and three Human males. I think one of them was that damn traitor who killed his whole squad!"

"You're telling me all of the prisoners in Cell Block 11, ARE HELPING HIM!"

"Yes ma'am. Sorry ma'am."

Renn placed the palms of her hands on her face and yelled many curses as she did so. She calmed herself and sighed. She reached back over to the com unit and turned it back on, "What level were they on." She said calmly.

"Level 5 ma'am."

"Right. Get a squad and find them. Kill the Wookiee if you have too but capture the rest. NOW!"

"Yes ma'am!

Alisa turned her com unit off and typed in a code into her control pad. It then flashed green and an alarm began sounding through the ship. She then got up from her chair and opened a locker. It contained standard issue Imperial Officer Armour and an 'SE-14C' Blaster Pistol. She equipped her armour and holstered her blaster. She picked up her helmet and carried it at her side. She then turned her computer console off and exited her office. She was going to find these Rebels.

* * *

 **The group reached the storage room on level 5 and started looking,** "You're sure this is where my hand will be?" Naya asked.

"Yeah it should be. See if you can find anything else too, like blasters." Trooper replied.

After some searching Kell found something that pleased him, "Hey, I found my uniform and blaster. That should mean your stuff is here as well." He gestured to the rest of them. Kell went off to get suited up as the others searched. Naya soon found her gear too and went to get changed. Gaaraddik grunted happily as he found his Bowcaster and ammo bandolier. O'Brion went searching elsewhere in the room as Trooper stood motionless looking into a crate.

Kell returned suited up in his Rebel uniform armed with his 'A280C' Blaster Rifle. His rank insignia showing he was indeed a Lieutenant. Naya stood opposite of Kell in her Rebel Pilot jumpsuit with her helmet on and 'DH-17' Pistol holstered. Even better she had found her Mechno hand and reattached it. Kell noticed and smiled at her. Gaaraddik, Kell and Naya's attention was bought to Trooper who was still staring into the crate. Kell and Naya walked over to him. Naya took one look and walked away while Kell stayed and put his hand on Troopers shoulder.

Inside the crate was Stormtrooper armour splattered in dry blood, 'It's my armour. The blood. I had to kill my team. I couldn't let them-' Trooper stopped. A tear went down his cheek. He pushed Kell's hand off of his shoulder and walked away. Kell watched as Trooper walked away and he sighed sadly.

Moments later O'Brion reappeared. He had found his armour which was a mix of Stormtrooper, Mandalorian and Clone Trooper armour. He carried a 'DC-15S' Blaster Rifle and had a 'DC-17' Pistol holstered, 'Are we ready to go Sir?' he asked.

'Yeah. I think we are.' Kell answered softly.

Kell and his group exited the storage room, 'Trooper, what level is the hangar on?' he asked.

'Uh it should be Level 3. Oh wait, maybe 6?' Trooper unsurely replied.

'You don't know!'

Trooper yelled back, 'This Barge is a bit different to the last one I was on so yeah, maybe Level 3 or 6! Sir.'

Kell came to a stop, the elevator in sight. Its doors opened and half a dozen Stormtroopers marched out. The female trooper TK-5773 stood at the front of the squad, 'Set blasters to stun. Fire!' she yelled and the Stormtroopers opened fire!

'Back down the corridor! Move, now!' Kell shouted as he and his group ran back from where they came.

They managed to make it back to the storage room and took cover. They began to fire back. O'Brion leant out from his cover. He aimed his blaster and fired two shots. The first hitting a trooper in his leg, causing him to fall to his knees. The next hit him in-between his helmet's eye pieces. The trooper fell back, dead. TK-5773 took notice of this. She looked at her blaster and then to Kell's group, 'That's it men! Set your blasters to kill!' the Stormtroopers paused their firing for a moment but when they began again, it was more dangerous than ever.

However, the momentary stop in firing gave Kell and the others a chance to duck out of the storage room and head down an adjacent corridor. It wasn't too long before the Stormtroopers caught up and began firing again. The group took cover behind wall struts and anything that could pass for cover. Kell and Naya managed to take down two more Stormtroopers but it was not good enough, 'Damn it, we need to finish this now!' Kell exclaimed in annoyance!

Gaaraddik then had an idea. He pulled a 'Concussion Grenade' out of his satchel. He gestured at Kell who nodded in agreement. TK-5773 began making her way closer to the Rebels. She was determined to kill them. Gaaraddik saw her coming but waited until she was just close enough then lunged forward and grabbed her. She reacted quickly though and fired her blaster at his leg. Gaaraddik roared in pain. She aimed at his head ready to fire, 'Hey!' a voice from behind her yelled. She turned her head too look.

Naya charged forward swinging her left arm at TK-5773. Her Mechno hand hit her helmet, shattering half of its mouth piece. TK-5773 stood there for a moment…then collapsed to the floor. She shifted groggily onto her side and spat blood from her mouth before falling unconscious. Naya took cover next to Gaaraddik and looked at his injured leg. 'You gonna be okay big guy?' she asked. Gaaraddik grunted softly at her, 'Kell. What did he say?'

'He said: Your mechanical had makes a fine weapon.'

Naya laughed and patted Gaaraddik on his shoulder. He then stood up, slowly. He picked up his Concussion Grenade and was ready to throw it but then he looked down at TK-5773. Grabbing her by the arm he swung her over his head. He threw her down the corridor where she landed amongst her own troops. The Concussion Grenade followed her and with a loud bang the corridor filled with smoke; the troopers cried out and collapsed.

Trooper looked over at Gaaraddik, 'Wow. You got any more of those things?' he shook his head, 'Damn, they could really come in handy when you need 'em.'

Kell stood up from his cover, 'C'mon. Let's move.'

* * *

 **Alisa Renn stepped out of an elevator and walked down a corridor.** She came across a squad of Stormtroopers muttering amongst themselves and complaining, 'Troopers!' she shouted and they stood to attention! 'Where is TK-5773?'

A Stormtrooper that Alisa hadn't noticed was sitting on the ground. She picked herself up and stood in front of her, 'TK-5773 here ma'am.' she slurred.

Renn looked at her. Her helmet's mouth piece had been shattered, she had dry blood splattered on her mouth and chest piece and her left arm was dangling by her side, 'TK-5773. Your helmet? Explain.'

'The Rebel Twi'lek. She had her Mechno hand. She punched me with it.'

'And your arm?'

'Oh, my arm.' She paused for a moment grimacing in pain, 'It's dislocated, broken? The Wookiee grabbed me by it and, uh, threw me. With my arm, ma'am. But I'm okay to go on ma'am! I can receive medical attention later!'

Renn looked at her. Any other time she would have sent an injured troop away to be patched up. She was surprised. She had never encountered an injured soldier who was determined to keep fighting, 'Fine. Where are they headed?'

'Best guess would be the hangar ma'am.'

'Right, troopers follow me.' Renn and the Stormtroopers marched to the elevator. Renn too was determined to stop these Rebels.

* * *

 **A blaster bolt flew past Naya's leg causing her to flinch,** 'Aagh! Stormtroopers!' She then dived into a nearby room whilst the others crouched down behind a large crate.

Three Stormtroopers marched down the hallway firing their blasters, trying to catch them off guard, 'Dammit they won't let up!' Kell yelled as he hit the crate.

O'Brion looked at Kell. He sat his rifle on the ground and pulled out his pistol. Suddenly he dove away from the crate in a rolling move and fired his Blaster three times. Each shot hitting a Stormtrooper and killing them. Kell walked over to O'Brion who was getting up slowly, 'Wow! That was impressive.'

'Maybe. I'm gonna regret it,' O'Brion replied as he placed his hand on his back and stretched, 'I'm getting old.'

'How old are you exactly? If you don't mind me asking?'

'I'm 30.'

'30! But you look- You just said-'

'I'm a Clone. It's beca- It's complicated, don't ask.'

'Uh yeah okay,' Kell looked at the others. He then started to walk away, 'C'mon let's move.'

A short time passed as they travelled. Trooper peered round a corner, looking to make sure no one was there, 'Right, we're clear,' he moved away from the corner and began to access a wall mounted computer terminal, 'Hangar bay, hangar bay, hangar b- AH HA! Got it. Right we are fine. It's here on level 3.'

'Good job Trooper. Let's go.' Kell ordered and they all followed Trooper, 'Hey Trooper. When I asked you yesterday, what your name was. Why did you tell me your ID code?'

'Uh, well…in the academy they drill our names out of us. Make us go by our IDs. Mine was JT-339. Just nameless faceless soldiers of the Empire.'

'Oh. What is your name?'

'It's- My name is- I don't want to do this! I'm a Stormtrooper. I don't have a name. My name's Trooper! Just call me Trooper.'

'Okay. Okay, Trooper.' Kell, tactfully let the subject drop.

They all came to a stop as they reached a tall room with stairs leading to the floor. The room was filled with crates and tool boxes, 'Okay. Through this room, down a corridor or two and we should be at the hangar.' Trooper said as he gestured down into the room.

'What is this, a repair storage room?' O'Brion asked.

'Yeah, looks like it.' Naya guessed.

'It's a mess. I tell you the Republic was a lot tidier than the Empire.'

'I bet.' Naya chuckled to herself.

They began making their way down the stairs when the door behind them opened and Stormtroopers charged through, 'Damn it! Someone blast the door control. Stop them!' Kell shouted as he reached the bottom.

O'Brion aimed his blaster at the door control and fired. Stopping more troopers from coming through. Everybody else reached the ground floor and scrambled for cover. Kell looked up to see how many made it through, 'How many Stormtroopers came through?'

'I don't know sir! Maybe three, I think!' O'Brion shouted back!

They manged to pick off the Stormtroopers one by one as they forced a path back through the room, sending a barrage of blaster fire ahead of them. The rebels cautiously moved over to the main exit door. Trooper was already trying to get it open, 'C'mon! That door we blasted isn't going to hold them forever!' Trooper yelled imprecations at the stubborn door. After a few moments it opened with a loud clunk, 'Yes! C'mon' he shouted over his shoulder, 'let's go!'

As they were heading through the door a blaster bolt barely missed Kell. O'Brion, unfortunately, wasn't as lucky. A lone Stormtrooper had remained hidden in the room and used the distraction of their getting the main exit open to open fire as they were crowding to get out. A blaster bolt tore into O'Brion, passing clean through his chest armour. He collapsed to his knees. Trooper and Kell dashed back into the room. Kell ran to O'Brion's side while Trooper found the rogue Stormtrooper, 'IMPERIAL SCUM!' he fired multiple shots into the trooper before picking him up and throwing his body down the stairs.

Kell placed his hands on O'Brion, keeping him up, 'Come on O'Brion. Your fine.'

'We both know-' O'Brion stopped for air before being able to talk again, 'We both know, I'm not. Now go, Sir! I'll…hold them off.'

Kell turned to see Trooper standing behind him, 'Go. Get Naya and Gaaraddik to the ship. I'll…be there in a minute. Go!' Kell watched as Trooper led them away, 'I'm so sorry O'Brion. I'm so damn sorry!'

O'Brion placed his hand on Kell's shoulder, 'It's alright sir. I had…an interesting life.'

'I'm sorry.'

'Find- Find Kai.'

'Kai?'

'Another ARC Trooper. He was with me on Sullust. He got away before I was captured,' he paused a moment to catch his breath, 'Find him. Tell him- Tell him I said it was an honour being his brother.'

'I will O'Brion. I promise.'

'Now go sir. I'll keep 'em busy. Go! Go and live to fight another day! Now sir!'

Kell looked O'Brion in the eyes before letting him go. Kell stood and walked over to the door. He looked back at him, 'It was an honour to fight by your side O'Brion.

'As it was with you, Kell.'

Kell turned away and ran down the corridor but he soon stopped. He could hear blaster fire coming from O'Brion's position. His hands clenched into fists but he kept on going. He didn't look back.

* * *

Alisa Renn stepped off of the stairs and onto the ground floor. She was now wearing her helmet and had her Blaster Pistol in her hand. She walked over to the middle of the room and looked down at O'Brion's body. Blaster marks covered him. She turned and punched TK-5773 in her gut and she soon collapsed onto her knees, 'I thought I told you…I WANTED THEM ALIVE! Why are your troopers' blasters not set to STUN?'

TK-5773 coughed and wheezed before being able to stand, let alone speak, 'I- They killed one of my men,' she paused to cough, 'I disobeyed orders. I'm sorry ma'am.'

'Oh yes you will be sorry. I'm getting you patched up…THEN I AM GOING TO BREAK YOU ALL OVER AGAIN!'

Alisa sighed and walked over to O'Brion's body. She placed her boot on him and rolled him over onto his back. He was alive, barely. Alisa knelt down next to him, he was trying to speak. He managed to say one last thing, 'For- For the Rebellion.' Those were his last words as, with a sigh, the light finally went out of his eyes.

Alisa swore under her breath but then, she noticed he was holding something in his hands. She reached over and shifted his hands off of whatever it was. He had been holding two 'Thermal Detonators'. They were active, 'GET AWAY! MOVE!' Alisa screamed at her soldiers as she dashed out of the way.

The Detonators exploded causing two troopers to be sent flying and the rest to be thrown to the floor, including Alisa. Then the room went dark. Suddenly red backup light came on and the crates, troopers and Renn began to float. The Detonators had cut off power from the Anti-Gravity generators. TK-5773 began to float over near Alisa, 'Captain Renn, ma'am.'

Alisa sighed, 'What is it TK-5773?

'I really hate today.'

'I hate it more.'

* * *

 **Kell ran through a doorway to find the rest of his team waiting,** 'Why aren't you in the hangar bay?' he asked.

'The door won't open. Troopers attempting to unlock it.' Naya replied, pointing at Trooper.

'I'm not attempting, I am going to unlock it,' He furiously replied back. He then stopped and turned to Kell, 'O'Brion, he's dead isn't he?'

Kell looked down at the ground before meeting Troopers eyes, 'Yeah. He is.'

Trooper closed his eyes for a moment before turning back to the door. After a short while he managed to unlock the door. They all stepped into the hangar room and looked around. Two 'TIE/LN Fighters' hung from ceiling clamps and one 'Theta-Class Shuttle' that barely fit into the small hangar, 'Wanna bet that's the Warden and her officer's shuttle.' Naya said.

'She must be higher up than I thought.' Kell responded.

Trooper joined the conversation, 'Sometimes they can be used as troop transports, among other uses.'

'Yeah?' Naya stared at the ship for a moment, 'For an Imperial ship, she's quite the beauty.'

'There supposed to look good. They were personal shuttles used by senators and other officials. Now they're military. Not a lot of 'em left,' Trooper looked over at Naya, 'How about you get that thing ready so we can get the hell out of here?'

Naya nodded at him and stepped inside the shuttle. Gaaraddik turned to the door way. He aimed his Bowcaster and growled. Kell cautiously walked over to him, 'What is it?' Gaaraddik turned his head and grunted, 'Okay people, he says we've got incoming. Trooper. Lock that door!'

Trooper ran to the door and locked it, 'Huh? That was easier than unlocking it. Weird.'

Trooper returned to Kell and Gaaraddik. They took cover behind what they could and prepared themselves. Kell tuned to face the Shuttle, 'NAYA! Could you go any faster?!'

'I'M WORKING AS FAST AS I CAN IN HERE!'

'Company's coming!'

'RIGHT, RIGHT I'M WORKING FASTER!'

Kell faced the doorway once more and readied his blaster.

Alisa Renn and her Stormtroopers reached the hangar door, 'Get this door open, now!'

One of the troopers stepped forward and worked on the door's control pad. Renn took her blaster pistol from its holster. She did one final check to make sure it was in proper condition. She momentarily considered testing it on TK-5773 but then thought better of it.

'It's opening in twenty seconds ma'am.' The trooper picked himself up and stood ready.

Alisa aimed her pistol at the door preparing for whatever was going to happen next. 'And make sure your blasters are set to stun!'

There was silence. One Stormtrooper at the very back looked down at his rifle. It was currently set to 'kill'. He didn't even consider changing it. The door opened and Alisa and her troops stormed the hangar. They were met with blaster shots from three directions. They took cover where they could and returned fire.

Kell fired his rifle taking down a Stormtrooper, while Gaaraddik took down two. Trooper fired his blaster and took one straight through the eye. He watched as the trooper fell to the floor twitching on the ground. It made Trooper feel slightly sick.

Alisa leaned out from her cover and fired her pistol. Five stun blasts flew past Kell's head, 'That thing fires in five round bursts?! I hate it already!'

'It's actually pretty good!' Trooper shouted back!

'No I hate it!'

A red marked Stormtrooper charged through the door carrying a 'DLT-19 Heavy Blaster Rifle'. Trooper fired his blaster at him hitting the trooper straight in the chest. The Stormtrooper shrugged it off and opened fire at Gaaraddik. Kell gestured to Trooper, 'They have a Shock Trooper!'

'Yeah I guess they do!' Trooper yelled!

Gaaraddik peered out from the strut he was taking cover behind. The Shock Trooper's stun blasts were getting too close for comfort. He leaned out and fired his Bowcaster. It missed the Shock Trooper but hit another Stormtrooper throwing him backwards. Kell fired his rifle and multiple shots hit the Shock Trooper, 'In the name of the Force, will he just go down already!'

The Shock Trooper turned his attention towards Kell which gave Gaaraddik an opening. He aimed his 'caster and fired. The energy bolt hit the trooper in the side of the head, passed through and out the other side. The Shock Trooper continued to stand there firing his Heavy Blaster. Then he fell. He fell backwards with his Blaster still firing taking out two Stormtroopers as he went down, 'Nice shot!' Trooper shouted to Gaaraddik!

TK-5773 stood up and fired her blaster. Her stun shot hit Kell in his left arm causing it to go 'dead'. He fell backwards from the shock. Trooper fired back at her. His shot hit her in her already dislocated and broken left arm, 'AAAAAAGH! Stop hurting my arm!' she screamed!

A second Shock Trooper stepped through the door, 'They have another one! Kell yelled furiously!

'They always come in pairs!' Trooper yelled back as he began firing at the second one.

Naya flipped switches, pulled levers and pressed buttons inside the shuttles cockpit, 'C'mon, c'mon you stupid thing just start!' as soon as she said it the shuttle activated with a loud humming sound, 'Huh? Maybe I should yell at ships more often!' she joked to herself. Naya looked over the console and noticed something, 'Hmm? Oh. This should help.'

Alisa leaned out once again to fire back but she noticed something. The shuttle's rear laser cannon was aimed at her and her men, 'Oh you've got to be kidding m-' before she could finish yelling, a massive laser blast struck the ground near her and TK-5773 sending them and all the adjacent Stormtroopers flying through the air. The smoke from the blast cleared and Kell, Gaaraddik and Trooper picked themselves up. Naya stepped out of the shuttle and looked at them. Kell turned to her, 'Did you- Did you do that?'

She grinned happily at him, 'Once you figure out the engine controls it's not so hard to figure out the ones for the weapons.'

'Well that was great. Better than great!' Kell leant against the hangars' wall and looked at his group, 'You guys get on the shuttle. I'll be there in a minute.'

Once they'd gotten inside the shuttle Kell stepped out towards the doorway. He looked down the corridor and sighed. _I'm sorry O'Brion. I really am. I will find Kai. I promise you that._

Kell turned away and walked towards the ship. Abruptly, he felt himself pulled from behind and almost immediately he was thrown to the ground. He quickly got himself up to see a Stormtrooper standing over him. This particular Stormtrooper had all too familiar dry blood stains on his gloves and wrist armour. Kell instantly recognised him as the vindictive Stormtrooper that had been beating him daily since he arrived, 'You!' Kell yelled as he reached for his rifle. But it wasn't slung over his shoulder.

The Stormtrooper pulled out Kell's rifle from behind his back and threw it away. He stared at Kell with his head tilted slightly. Then he charged at him and screamed, 'ALLIANCE SCUM!'

The trooper threw himself at Kell, who managed to dodge out of the way but he was quickly met with a blow to the back which grounded him. The trooper then began to kick Kell wherever he could. Tiring of kicking him, the Stormtrooper knelt down on top of Kell, using his bodyweight to keep him from escaping. Reaching out, he wrapped his hands around Kell's throat. Kell gasped for air. He clawed at the Stormtroopers hands but couldn't prise them off. His vision began to grow fuzzy and a roaring sound began to pound around inside his head. Through the noise of his own imminent demise, he could hear the trooper laughing.

Then, with a sudden release of pressure, Kell could breathe, hear and see again. He watched as Trooper threw himself on the Stormtrooper. He wrapped his arms around the trooper's throat. Now he was the one gasping for air. Trooper gave a huge twist and a jerk which was accompanied by a clearly audible 'snap'. The Stormtrooper went limp and sagged to the floor.

Trooper got up and walked over to Kell holding out a hand. Kell took the proffered hand and Trooper pulled Kell up from the ground. Kell said nothing as Trooper helped him into the shuttle and sat him down on one of the many seats inside. The shuttles rear ramp folded up. Naya in the cockpit, comfortable now with the controls, activated the take-off cycle. The shuttle lifted off of the ground, its landing gear retracting. Naya flew it out of the hangar into space. It hadn't gone more than a few feet when suddenly, it stopped. As if something was keeping it from leaving, 'What is going on? Naya shouted, 'Oh great the barge has a tractor beam!'

'Turn the shuttle to face the barge. Do it now!' Trooper yelled as he made his way to Naya.

She pulled a lever to the left and turned an octagonal dial clockwise. The shuttle turned to face the barge, 'Okay now what?' she asked.

'See those two circular dishes,' He pointed at the barge, 'They emit the tractor beam.'

'Right and how am I gonna destroy them? The barge has shields!'

'Yeah! But look how close we are to it, we're-'

Naya cut him off, 'We're inside the shields! Great Trooper!'

She then angled the shuttles two front laser cannons at each dish and fired. Both dishes exploded and the shuttle was free.

Alisa picked herself up off of the ground. She looked out of the hangar's docking shield into space and watched the Shuttle leave. The rebels had escaped. Alisa Renn was furious. This was a new level of anger she had never felt before. She turned and walked away. TK-5773 also picked herself up. She watched as Renn walked past her and she raised her arm to her face preparing herself for whatever punishment she would inflict on her. No attack came. TK-5773 lowered her arm from her face and watched as Alisa Renn walked away in silence.

Trooper returned to the passenger hold as Naya jumped the ship into Hyperspace.

'Trooper,' Kell said weakly, 'Thank you.'

Trooper sat down across from Kell, 'You don't need to thank me. I wasn't gonna let you die.'

Naya swivelled her seat round to face the rest of them, 'I'm sorry for how I acted around you earlier Trooper. Kell, you were right. He is different. He's a Rebel.'

Kell looked at Trooper and smiled, 'The Alliance could use a man like you. What do you say?'

Trooper looked at them and then to Gaaraddik who was standing in the corner. He tilted his head and then grunted softly at him. Trooper gestured to Kell, 'Okay. What did he say?'

Kell looked to Gaaraddik and then back at Trooper. He chuckled, 'He said he takes back what he said too. You know, about what he threatened to do to you if you betrayed us? Anyway, he also said that if you join us, you'd be helping to save a great many people. You'd make the galaxy a better place.'

Trooper laughed to himself and looked at Gaaraddik, 'Wow fuzzball, I didn't know you could be so nice and not terrifying,' He looked down at the ground for a moment but when he brought his head back up he looked at them all, 'Okay, I'm in.'

The End


End file.
